Usmaan Ahmad

Usmaan Raheem Ahmad is an executive member of the Central Diplomatic Bureau of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), a non-violent political organization that seeks independence for Jammu & Kashmir. The JKLF is a prominent member of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC).

Usmaan received his B.A. (Political Science and Archaeology) from Washington University in St. Louis in 1998, his senior thesis was on the archaeology of Kashmir. He is currently a graduate student at the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy at Tufts University focusing on International Law and International Negotiation and Conflict Resolution. He is completing his thesis on "Negotiating Self-Determination in Kashmir" and is nearing completion of an illustrated children's book on Habba Khatoon, the renowned poetess of medieval Kashmir. Usmaan is also senior program associate at the Cambridge-based Conflict Management Group (CMG).

Usmaan has been an active Kashmiri activist for years, his efforts were featured in an article in the New York Times entitled "Kashmir's Champion Finds Pitfalls to Peace" (2/18/02). He has organized and participated in dozens of international symposia on Kashmir. In addition to rights advocacy, Usmaan has been a tireless peace activist and was the organizer of the week-long inter-Kashmiri dialogue at the Hague Appeal for Peace Summit in May 1999. Usmaan is also the founder of a grassroots initiative called the Kashmir Environmental Watch Association.